Page 96 of Enchanted Crown
He picked up a large sized rock and hefted it as far as he could, the rock landing with a thud. We waited. For what to happen, none of us knew. Still, we waited.
Just as we were making plans to explore in the direction of the buildings closest to us for clues as to what happened, there was an animal noise which stopped our discussion. It sounded like a horse.
Sure enough, a horse and rider came trotting up the shore. Where had they even come from? It must have been from around one of the buildings further inland. That was the only explanation which made sense.
He pulled up a safe distance from all of us before giving a quick bow. “Is the winged king among you?”
Amory’s eyes cut to mine and Dex instinctively moved between the man and me.
I had learned in all my delegate work that honesty usually worked best. “I am no king.”
“Semantics,” the man replied. “Do you, or do you not, have wings?”
How the hell did he know that? Howcouldhe know that? Unless someone from Corsha had a spy in Wylan. “I do.”
“Prove it.”
“Excuse me?” Amory asked, clearly bothered by the man bossing me around.
“To grant you access in Corsha, I will need to see your wings, Your Highness.”
Dex spun to me and whispered. “I do not like it. I do not like this one bit.”
I put up a hand. “I would rather have them out anyway, in case they are needed.”
That seemed to appease them. I stepped forward a few steps so that my wings could be released without hitting anyone, and then I willed them forward.
“Most excellent,” the man said with a smile as he saw them. “Wait here.” He lifted a horn of sorts to his lips and gave a long blow.
It was one man. What exactly were we to wait for? I had to assume there were at least a few others if he was somehow signaling to the rest.
My attention was jerked toward the buildings in the distance as something seemed to shimmer. And then like some sort of translucent veil, it all fell away, pooling at the bottom like a sheet before it disappeared entirely. Our entire view just fell away.
“What the hell?” Dex gasped.
“Did that really just happen?” Amory whispered.
There were multiple murmurs from the ship behind us, as they all saw it too.
I had to blink. Blink again. One moment we saw a deserted Corsha, the next, it all fell away and the real Corsha stood. There were people moving about in the streets and lights on in the buildings. A few people stopped and looked at us as we looked at them. One kid even waved.
A group of ten riders on horseback approached. Most all of them were smiling like they were happy to see us. So there was at least that.
One such, a woman who looked to be a teenager, had a sparkling gold crown upon her head. She grinned kindly at us all. “We have been waiting for you.”
Amory and I exchanged a glance. We hadn’t sent word of our arrival. We had assumed Corsha was as we had first found her, deserted.
The original man with the horn gestured to the young woman, “Her Royal Highness, Queen Aurelia Rassi.”
Though she looked barely older than a child, she was already a queen? I bowed slightly, the rest of my group following. “Your Highness.”
She dismounted from her horse and came in my direction, surprising me in that rather than shaking my hand, she did not hesitate to give me a hug. “It is time.”
“Time for what exactly, Your Grace?” John asked, the only one who seemed to have words.
She continued to smile at me, taking in my wings. “The reign of the brother kings.”
CHAPTER 33
